The present invention relates to improvements in ammunition carriers, and more particularly, to an improved cartridge storage and dispensing carrier for loading rifles having tubular magazines.
Magazines for feeding ammunition into the breech of a rifle are generally of the clip or tubular type and store a limited number of rounds or cartridges. The clip type is removable from the rifle, so that a number of clips can be preloaded and carried separately for quick replacement of a spent clip. However, the tubular magazine is usually fixed to the rifle's barrel and the number of cartridges which may be pre-loaded is limited to the capacity of a single magazine. Consequently, the rifleman carries the extra cartridges in a separate box or loosely in his pocket and reloads the magazine each time it empties. The cartridges must be fed by hand, one at a time, into the magazine. Valuable hunting time or shooting opportunities may be lost. If the reloading is done outdoors in the field, there is the added risk of dropping the cartridges on the ground or in snow. In that event, the cartridges must be wiped off, and in doing so, lubricant coating by the manufacturer is also removed and its absence may cause leading in the barrel.